TwentyFour
by SiriuslylvnSirius25
Summary: November 13, 1977, 7:00am begins the worst day in the history of Hogwarts. The Ministry will have a choice to make. Give in to Voldemorts demands or risk the lives of the students of Hogwarts. In 24 hours, everything that can go wrong will go wrong.


**Twenty-Four 7:00am-8:00am**

November 13, 1977

-Hogwarts, 7:00am-

Wind lashed against the window of the seventh year Gryffindor boy's dormitory stirring a dark messy-haired boy from slumber. The boy grumbled irritably and rolled onto his stomach, stuffing his face deep into the down pillow on his four-poster bed. His hands clamped around his ears as he tried desperately to drift back to sleep, but he would have no such luck for moments later pillow that was not his own crashed into the side of his head. "Oi!" James Potter shouted, sitting bolt upright and glaring around the room to find the perpetrator.

A shaggy black-haired boy was laughing from the bed beside his, clutching his stomach as he rolled back onto his own bed. Sirius Black was already dressed for the day in a pair of dark jeans and a long sleeved red shirt. Even though he probably only woke up five minutes before James, he already looked as if he took hours grooming himself. "Time to get up Prongs, Moony and Wormtail are already heading to breakfast, said something about meeting us there. Of course, I got volunteered to get your lazy arse out of bed."

James grumbled something inaudible under his breath as he swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up. He stretched his tired limbs and picked up the pillow Sirius had thrown at him. Without so much as a word, he shot the pillow back at his best friend who readily caught the thing in mid-air. "Nice try Prongsie, it's a wonder how you got Quidditch captain with a throw like that," teased Sirius as he set his pillow down on the bed. James lifted a carefully chosen finger at the seventeen year old before slamming the bathroom door shut.

Three minutes later the messy haired boy strutted out clad in a pair of slacks and grey sweatshirt. "Do you think Evans is already at breakfast?" he asked casually as he and Sirius left the room and headed down to the Great Hall.

"You can count on it. That girl is up at the crack of dawn, I swear it."

Sirius was right of course. The long dark red hair of Lily Evans could be spotted from the moment they walked into the hall. Her head was bent over the table as she whispered to her two best friends. Mary MacDonald, a small thin brunette, threw her head back in laughter as Lily and Marlene McKinnon, a plump dark haired witch, watched with bemused expressions. "You're kidding me right?" the airy voice of Mary could be heard from a few feet away where James and Sirius tok their seats across from a sandy haired boy with ocean blue eyes and a round blonde haired boy with more watery blue eyes.

"Been listening to those three giggle for the last five minutes," muttered Remus Lupin to the two boys.

"We'll take care of it," Sirius grinned as he turned his head towards the girls. "Oi, Evans! I thought you only shared that cute little laugh of yours with my Jamesie over here."

Lily's head snapped around at Sirius words, her eyes set in a playful glare. "Oh, you know the only laugh he likes to hear is yours."

"Darling, how mistaken you are. It's not my laugh he loves, it's my-"

"Shut it Sirius," James interjected with a roll of his eyes.

Just across the hall at the Hufflepuff table Hestia Jones, a perpetually happy black haired sixth year witch, slowly chewed on a piece of toast as Greta Catchlove, a thick, black haired seventh year witch, talked animatedly about the latest Witch Weekly. Taryn Highfield and Isaiah Hart were hold handing under the table, their heads leaning against one another as they half-heartedly listened to their friend's talking. "Is it time to go yet?" Taryn asked, pulling her head away from Isaiah causing her long blonde to catch in her lipstick. The sixth year wiped at the strands absentmindedly.

"Soon, it's almost seven thirty," answered Hestia. "We can head out to the Entrance Hall now if you want."

"Yeah, let's do that." Taryn tugged at Isaiah's hand and led the wiry haired seventh year boy away from the table. They didn't bother waiting for Greta and Hestia to get up before heading down the row of tables and into the Entrance Hall.

Four Ravenclaws were already occupying the lone bench outside as they waited for the caretaker to allow them to leave for the village of Hogsmeade. "Hey Greta," greeted Verity Milos, a seventh year with short brown hair. "Did you still want to meet up at the Three Broomsticks for lunch?"

"Oh yes, we need to discuss that Charms project."

Verity nodded her head before turning to Nadia Davis, a sixth year with shoulder length black hair. "You don't mind, do you? I mean, you'll just have to suffer with them for an hour or so without me," she smirked as she nodded her head towards the two boys beside them. Darius Finch, a sixth year with shaggy blonde hair glared playfully at the girl, while his pal Trevor Jameson, a seventh year with short black hair, just rolled his eyes. They were used to be the butt of the jokes by now.

"No, I'm sure I can find something to do with them," Nadia countered with a wink. The two girl laughed shortly.

-London, 7:28am-

Two bodies were sprawled on the living room floor of a modest two story home on the outskirts of London. The man and woman look as if they could be asleep, lost deep within their dreams, except for the fact that they have not taken a breath for over an hour; killed, quietly and quickly, in their own home. The skeletally thin body of a man with a face eerily similar to a snake's rested upon a chair. He drummed his long, bony fingers on the arm as the clock on the wall ticked. His pet snake slithered in circles around the room as the wizard awaited the arrival of his followers.

_Crack! Crack! Crack!_

Several masked figures appeared out of thin air in front of the snakelike man. Each one was dressed in similar flowing black robes with silver masks that covered all but their lower jaws. In turn the figures bowed their heads slightly to their master. "Ah, just on time," Voldemort hissed, his eyes looking above the faces of his loyal death eaters.

"My Lord, everything is in place. The students should begin arriving within the hour," drawled Lucius Malfoy.

"Excellent. Everything must go as planned today. One mistake could ruin everything."

-Hogwarts, 7:30am-

"Alright, alright children. If I catch any Zonko's products making their way back to the castle, the student holding them will have detention for a week," cracked Apollyon Pringle's voice as the students bustled past him. Not one student listened to a word the caretaker said as they chatted animatedly to their friends and discussed plans of action for when they got to Hogsmeade.

Bringing up the rear was a large gang of Slytherins. Severus Snape led the way with his long greasy black hair bouncing at his shoulders. "Another month, another trip," he muttered more to himself than to anyone around him. Evan Rosier, a tall black haired seventh year boy, shuffled beside him with a sour look on his face.

"I don't see why you bother going if you don't like the village."

"You know why he's going idiot. The same reason we all are," Rudolphus Lestrange, a black haired seventh year, answered for Snape. The same reason they all were. The considerably large group of six Slytherins had no intention of _enjoying_ their trip to Hogsmeade. They had a job to do, something none of the boys wanted to utter out loud.

Sirius' brother, Regulus Black, sighed. Though a year younger than his brother, he was taller than the older boy and just as handsome with his own dark hair and dark grey eyes. "Let's just get this day over with." He was the least enthusiastic of the bunch.

Quite the opposite of Regulus, the sixth year Xavier Holden, snapped his head towards the Black brother. "Don't sound so reluctant Black. You should feel honored to be given this task," he growled, his dark eyes and hair making him look more menacing than he actually was.

"Shut it, Xavier," hissed Uriel Fawes, a twitchy blonde sixth year.

"Why don't you all just shut your mouths, you don't know who could be listening," Snape warned, looking down his hooked nose at the group. His words were enough to shut the Slytherins up for the rest of the trip to the village.

-Hogsmeade, 7:40am-

"Merlin, why does it have to be so cold out?" complained Verity as she wrapped her arms around herself. Despite being dressed in a thick sweater, the Ravenclaw was shivering.

"It's not, the wind just makes it seem that way," answered Trevor. As if justifying his answer, the wind picked up, whipping Verity's hair around in all directions. "Here, take my jacket." Verity smiled and took the jacket gratefully, wrapping it around her body. The effect was almost instantaneous. Warmth spread over her, relaxing her muscles and successfully stopping her chattering teeth.

"Thanks," the girl grinned, giving the boy a side-hug as they walked down the streets.

"How about we stop at Gladrags, pick up an extra cloak or two," Nadia suggested. The three Ravenclaws nodded in agreement, picking up their pace as they went. Conversation flowed easily between the group, passing the time rather quickly. When they reached the store, a man dressed in a long black cloak bumped into Verity as he left the store.

"Sorry," she muttered, finding her footing and following her friends into the shop.

Farther down the street, Taryn and Isaiah slipped away from Hestia and Greta. "We'll meet you at Honeydukes in an hour or so," Taryn said as a way of goodbye. The couple didn't wait for a response, but rather walked off hand in hand towards the Shrieking Shack. Though the rumors stated the place was haunted, it was often times the one spot in Hogsmeade where a couple could get a bit of alone time.

"I can't believe this is your last year," Taryn whined. Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they walked briskly away from the village. The path to the shack was winding and narrow at times. Every sound seemed to echo miles into the distance.

"It just gives me a chance to get a job and a place for us to live before you graduate," reasoned Isaiah, stopping Taryn halfway down the path. He looked down into her eyes and smiled wistfully at the girl. "I mean it when I say I love you. Next year will fly by; you'll hardly even notice I'm gone."

Their foreheads touched as they stared into each others' eyes. "So you say now," she replied with a sigh. Isaiah leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Taryn's lips. They lingered momentarily before the sound of crackling leaves broke the two apart. Taryn jumped closer to her boyfriend as they both peered around. As far as they could see there was no one in sight.

"It was just the wind," Isaiah reassured her before taking her hand once more and leading her back down the path. Still he couldn't help but look over his shoulder once last time before they went.

-Hogsmeade, 7:54am-

The mask was cold against Bellatrix's face as she waited in the shadows. The wind sent chills down the young woman's spine, but she ignored any feeling of coldness that overcame her. She wasn't so weak as to let a little chill distract her from what she came here to do. The cloak was doing a well enough job keeping the majority of the cold out. Besides, she would be inside soon. All she needed was the little brat. It didn't matter which one, as long as it was a student.

Luck was on her side that day as within a few minutes of her hiding, the bell above the door to Gladrags rang and the happy voices of children reached her ears. She cringed at the sound and felt the overwhelming urge to just kill them all right there. Happy little children; more like ignorant little children. They wouldn't be able to fight off a fly, nevermind Bellatrix.

"I'll meet up with you guys in a second, I forgot my change!" one of the kids called out to the others followed quickly by the sound of the bell again. Bella grinned slyly as the group consented to leave the girl behind.

"Fools," the woman muttered, gripping her wand tightly as she waited for the girl to come out again. A few moments later, her chance came. The bell above the door jangled once again. Swiftly, Bella swept from the shadows and flicked her wand at the girl silencing her from being able to scream. Her thin hand brushed over the teenager's mouth just in case while the hand secured the girls arms. It happened in a matter of seconds. Not a single eye caught on to the sight of the masked figure dragging the young Ravenclaw off the streets and into the shadows.

-Hogsmeade, 7:58am-

"Seriously, where is that girl?" Nadia complained, bouncing on the balls of her feet to see over the crowd of people. No sign of her friend anywhere. "I'm going to go get her." Without waiting for a response, the black haired girl pushed her way through the people and back to Gladrag's. She pulled the door open and glanced around the shop, but there was no one in the store besides the shop keep.

Frowning, Nadia walked out into the cold again and searched the walkway. Verity was nowhere to be found. Her heart started to speed up as worry began to fill her. She ran up the sloping street towards her waiting companions. "Guys, I can't find her. She's not in the store," she said quickly to the boys.

"Hey," Darius stopped a person on the street. Lily Evans turned to look at the frazzled Ravenclaw and frowned. "Have you seen Verity?"

Lily looked to her friends who were shaking their heads and said, "Sorry, no."

That was when the scream rang out.

-8:00am-


End file.
